The DigitalRV Blog

You might be asking yourself, “What is the KR1, and why do I care?” Good questions! Who knows, you might not care, but then again you might. If you’re really interested in ways to connect to the Internet while on the road in your RV, you’ll definitely care.

First off, what is the KR1?  It is a WiFi router. Not too much unique there. WiFi routers are a dime a dozen, and they’re showing up in homes and RVs across the U.S. Here’s the interesting part. You can take a data capable wireless phone, or wireless network card (from a wireless carrier) and connect the KR1 to them. Then the KR1 will connect to the cellular network provider’s wireless network, and you’re on the net.

Maybe that’s not too exciting. We’ve all been able to connect to the Internet through our cell phones and wireless cards the carriers offer for a while now. But with this device you can be your own mobile “hot spot.” After my initial testing I’m fairly enthused. I used a Windows laptop & a Mac laptop and cruised the Internet on both through the KR1. And I did it from inside my trailer, which has no internet connection.

So, why should you care? Well, you can now use more than one computer easily when traveling. If you systems have WiFi in them, this router will let you access the cellular provider’s network from multiple systems simultaneously. And yes, I know the really technical folks will say, “Well, I could set up sharing from my system for other computers too.” Yup, I know all of that, but for the non-technical out there this is an easy way to create your own wireless hotspot easily.

Before you read any further, Please Note:

Before providing the details of what came with the router, it’s setup, and how it works you need to know some things up front. The router is designed to use EVDO / 1X card and EVDO / 1X capable phones. EVDO stands for “Evolution Data Only.” Verizon and Sprint use these technologies. So, if you’re interested in this router, you’d need to be a customer on their networks to use it. I’m sure we’ll see stuff for Cingular and the rest of the gang sooner or later.

In the Box:

The KR1 arrived this afternoon. Plain brown box, FedEx shipping label, and the box was in a plastic bag in case of bad weather (who knows, maybe some people want to know this stuff). The product box itself looked like any standard WiFi Router, or plain vanilla router.

It’s at this point I’ll note, there was also a DC power adapter in the brown box. I ordered that as well. Since I’ll be using the device in my trailer I decided I really needed to be able to power it DC as well as AC. The reason I mention the purchase of the DC power supply is simple. It demonstrates my failure to read all the product documentation. When I opened the router box I found it also came with a DC power supply. Obviously I failed to read ALL the product documentation regarding what came with it. So, I’ve got 2 DC power supplies for it. Always read before buying, and always read before setting up (I should know better, but sometimes I have a moment).

Not too much came in the package. The power supplies, an AC power supply, the router, installation software, a WiFi antenna, and a CAT 5 Lan Cable for initial setup. See the photos below if you want to “wow” yourself on the package and contents.

The KR1 Packaging, and an “extra” DC Adapter

Cotents of the KR1’s Packaging - The lays chips and Yankee Candle were not included

Taking an initial look at the KR1, I wouldn’t really know it was something “new” at first glance. The back side looks like your standard WiFi router. It has several lan ports to plug into if you don’t have WiFi. It also has a spot to put your WiFi antenna into. 2 USB ports, 1 for connecting your cell phone to, and one for standard USB devices. Finally, a PCMCIA slot for a wireless network card. The big differences, the USB for your phone, and PCMCIA slot.

Router Setup - Can it get any easier?

The instruction book is pretty slim. There’s a CD that also comes with the unit, but wasn’t necessary for setup. Basically there are a few simple steps to setup the router.

1. Hook the antenna to the router.
2. Connect your PCMCIA EVDO Card, or phone via USB cable. You need to have already activated your card or phone with your carrier first!
3. Connect the ethernet cable from Port 1 on the router to your computer. This is how you will configure the router on the initial setup.
4. Power the bad boy up!
5. Open your web browser on your computer and go to the address the instructions tell you. You will be prompted to login as “admin”.
6. Run the “Wizard”.
7. Follow all the wizard instructions.
8. Finish, reboot the router, and get ready to start surfing the Internet. Oh, when doing all of this you should be somewhere that is covered by your Wireless network provider. That always helps!

Suffice it to say, I was up and running in under 10 minutes. I think opening the contents, browsing the install guide, and connecting everything took longer than the network setup.

Router Features:

The features on the router are like any other. It has a Firewall (for your security), multiple CAT 5 ports (for ethernet connections), IP filtering, WEP Encryption (to keep snoopy neighbors off your network), and a host of advanced setup options. If you’re concerned about network security, internet gaming, etc., don’t fret. This wireless router has you covered.

Network administration is a simple task. The router can be accessed via your internet browser of choice. The interface is relatively intuitive. No big surprises, and nothing is missing!

Router Operation - It works!

After setting up the KR1 I left it on for several hours. Actually, I moved it out to my trailer, and setup the Windows and Mac systems. Then I proceeded to cruise the web, post some comments on Airstreamforums, read Tour of America, and check out a few other news sites. Incredibly enough, when you want to spend time on the Internet to test something it’s hard to come up with enough things to do.

While testing the router I swung by DSLReports.com. There I checked out the speed of my connection. Only 124 K. A little sad in comparison to the home Cable modem. But still, where I live is on a 1X network, not EVDO. So not too bad considering.

Additionally I checked out DSLReports’ port scan. That’s a tool that will look at your network setup and tell you if you have any vulnerabilities. As it turns out, I had several UDP ports that were noticed. So I’ve got some research to do in order to determine what those ports do, and then close them up with the firewall. If anything big comes out of that I’ll post a follow up for sure.

While testing the connection went dormant several times. That means I wasn’t doing enough on the network in order to keep the network connection up with the wireless carrier. They have a “time out” on their networks for inactive connections. I resolved that very easily. I reset my e-mail’s “check for new messages” to once every 3 minutes. That way, every 3 minutes my e-mail would talk to the mail server, and my connection would look busy. The dormant issue ceased being an issue.

Initial Conclusions on the KR1:

Overall I’m happy with this new wireless EVDO router. It has met my initial criteria that I have when getting a new product:

1. Simple instructions. Easy to read and follow.
2. Simple setup. The router’s interface guided me right through setup.
3. Functioned on the first try. There was no messing around, loading of extra drivers, installation of “proprietary software.” That’s key for me as a user.
4. Full features comparable to current products. Often new products are not quite finished. You find that features you were used to on legacy products are missing. Often it takes a manufacturer several software patches to get the equipment where users want it. Not the case here.
5. Finally, it kept working. I found no real issues with the KR1 router while testing it. Other than the dormancy problem, which is found across the board on cell data connections, nothing else sprang up.

If you’re an RV’er who’s looking for an interesting way to connect to the internet, the KR1 might be worth looking into. Keep in mind, where there’s no wireless carrier, there’s no using their network. If you want a connection that works across the U.S. satellite is still the only way to go. But if you’re not interested in spending that kind of money, maybe you’d like the KR1. Also, keep in mind the wireless carriers are expanding their networks every day.

Costs Involved:

Ok, here’s what the whole thing will run you…..(this is my case specifically).

• $59.00 for a Verizon Wireless EVDO card. You could use your mobile phone with a USB cable, but I wanted to keep my phone available for calls.
• $59.00 per month for Verizon’s Broadband Wireless service.
• $299.00 for the KR1 Router (with shipping, and my purchase of an additional DC power adapter ). In my opinion, the router’s cost is a little steep in comparison to other WiFi routers. Then again, it’s a “new product” and being on the leading edge of new tech always costs more.

So, $360 in equipment, and $59 per month. Is it worth it? Depends on your needs, and if you feel you need to be connected regularly while on the road.

Still looking for more information???

Want more information. Post a comment and let me know. More photos of the device, screen shots of the admin interface, or anything else you’d like to know. Feel free to ask and I’ll be more than happy to try and answer.